Justifiably overshadowed by the peerless Getz/Gilberto album (which featured "Girl from Ipanema") from a year before, Getz/Gilberto #2 still holds its own with an appealing selection of fine jazz and bossa nova cuts. Unlike the first album's seamless collaboration by Getz, Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, here Getz and Joao Gilberto turn in separate sets recorded live at Carnegie Hall in October of 1964. Backed by a stellar quartet comprised of vibraphonist Gary Burton, bassist Gene Cherico, and drummer Joe Hunt, Getz turns in a sparkling performances on the seldom covered ballad "Tonight I'll Shall Sleep with a Smile on My Face," while stretching out nicely on his original blues swinger "Stan's Blues." With the support of bassist Keeter Betts and drummer Helcio Milito, Gilberto displays his subtle vocal and guitar talents on a set of bossa nova favorites, including his own "Bim Bom" and Jobim's "Meditation." An appealing title amongst Getz's many bossa nova outings, but not an essential one. Newcomers should definitely start with the Getz/Gilberto album before checking this one out. ~ Stephen Cook

Reviews

Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto #2

This live follow-up to the surprise blockbuster Getz/Gilberto was inevitable. Interestingly, the original LP release of the October 1964 Carnegie Hall concert focused on separate sets by Getz's quartet (featuring vibist Gary Burton) and Gilberto's trio: each is as meditative and sweetly melancholic as you'd expect. Five bonus tracks bring together Getz, Gilberto, and the latter's wife, Astrud Gilberto, in revisiting their collaboration. --Rickey Wright
"According to "Stan Getz - a life in Jazz", Stan had broken up with Astrud after an affair that wrecked her marriage to Joao Gilberto. None of them was speaking to the others. Each got up on stage with a different backup band, mostly they don't play together. Like oil and water. The result is mediocre. A major disappointment after the perfect synchrony and intimacy of "Getz/Gilberto". For completists. "Jazz Samba 2" is a much better followup."
"I got this album about 7 years ago and from the first time I listened to it, it took its place as my all-time favorite. It was my introduction to samba and my inspiration to search for more jazz for my CD collection. The music is so versatile and comforting - it is a perfect complement to whatever mood I'm in, be it upbeat or somewhat sad. It is complex but not too challenging to listen to like some other jazz can be. It does not get old or boring to me. Other reviewers have simply compared this album to others in the genre, but I would rather think of it standing on its own as a wonderful introduction for someone who doesn't have much jazz in their collection, and a must-have for those who do."
"I think you have to be a native from Brazil, and a Bossa Nova lover (like me), to identify something in these live recordings that most Americans accustomed to jazz rhythms won't notice. I am talking about the awkward way Joćo Gilberto performs the songs of this album. It is very different from the way he sings and plays the guitar in the classic Getz/Gilberto album, and I think the reason is that here he is being accompanied by jazz musicians who don't know how to play the samba rhythm correctly. It sounds like Gilberto is simplifying the rhythm and slowing down everything. This makes these recordings no comparison to the Getz/Gilberto album. The tracks by Stan Getz alone are OK."
"This album is the follow-up to the best-selling album in Verve history. The musicians are excellent, the music fun and the spirit bright. I would highly recommend it- I liked it better than the first! Astrud Gilberto's rendition of "Only Trust Your Heart" is reason enough to buy the disk- it it clear, beautiful and very sensual"
Submitted on 11/10/09 by OldHippieRick